In brief
- U.S. President Donald Trump said he knows "nothing" about World Liberty Financial when asked about the crypto firm's UAE-linked investors in a post-midterms interview.
- Asked why he does not divest, Trump said his sons run the business and that conflicts of interest are a problem "for every president."
- A UAE-backed firm agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million days before Trump's inauguration, prompting accusations of corruption.
U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his family's stake in crypto venture World Liberty Financial, saying he knows "nothing" about the firm despite being a co-owner, in an interview after last week's midterm elections.
Asked by columnist Ross Douthat why his co-ownership of a company partly owned by investors linked to the United Arab Emirates government was different from the kind of arrangement he would call corrupt if it involved the Biden family, Trump replied: "Here's the difference [... ] I'm gonna tell you why. Because I know nothing about it," according to a transcript published by CBS News.
Pressed on why he did not simply divest, Trump said most of his money is managed by Wall Street firms through index funds, and that his sons run the family business. "It's hard to say to them, 'Don't do anything anymore for four years because I'm president,'" he said.
When Douthat asked whether foreign investors in the company believe they are buying influence, Trump said: "I don't know." He argued that conflicts of interest have dogged presidents "going back to George Washington," adding that past presidents "own something, whatever crypto was at the time."
"There's crypto, and before that there was oil," Trump said, adding that, "every president has had this problem."
"I'm a bigger name than other presidents, whether we like it or not," Trump said.
Predict·CryptoBTC Highs in November
80,00042%YesNo82,50028%YesNo85,00017%YesNo87,50010%YesNo90,0007%YesNo+6 more outcomes+5 more outcomesNEW$196.13volumeDec 1Closes: Dec 1, 2026, 04:59 UTCCloses: Dec 1, 2026, 04:59 UTCWorld Liberty's UAE ties
World Liberty Financial, which Eric Trump announced in August 2024, issues the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin. In January, it launched World Liberty Markets, a lending and borrowing platform built on DeFi protocol Dolomite.
Its UAE links have drawn scrutiny from Democrats. Aryam Investment, a UAE-backed entity tied to the country's national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million four days before Trump's January 2025 inauguration, Decryptreported in February, citing The Wall Street Journal. The deal, signed by Eric Trump on World Liberty's behalf, reportedly preceded the administration's reversal of restrictions on advanced AI chip sales to the UAE. A World Liberty spokesperson said at the time that neither Trump nor his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had "any involvement whatsoever" in the transaction, ABC News reported. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the arrangement in February as "potentially criminal conduct." Trump has previously said he was not aware of the deal.
The company's UAE ties have also surfaced in its legal battle with Tron founder Justin Sun. Sun's lawyers asked a federal court to sanction World Liberty, alleging the firm delayed disclosing UAE ownership that could defeat federal jurisdiction over his lawsuit. World Liberty has called Sun's legal campaign a "meritless PR stunt."
The Trump family's financial stake in the venture is set out in World Liberty's own disclosures. DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity affiliated with Trump and certain family members, owns about 38% of the holding company behind World Liberty Financial, holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, and is entitled to 75% of the net proceeds from WLFI token sales, according to the company. A separate Trump-affiliated entity has an indirect claim on interest earned on the reserves backing USD1. The disclosures state that no member of the Trump family is an officer, director or employee of World Liberty, though Trump's sons have remained involved with the company, Decryptreported earlier this year.
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